The present invention relates to a hard and wear-resistant coating designed for tooling of materials difficult to machine such as e.g. hardened tool steels, stainless steels and titanium alloys. Such an application of extreme machining conditions requires a coating having an excellent wear-resistance, hot-hardness and oxidation resistance combined with a high toughness and a good adhesion.
The present invention further relates to the fabrication process of such a wear resistant coating, i.e. a defined PVD arc evaporation process.
It further relates to a coated workpiece, especially a tool having a body made from a cemented carbide, a cermet, a cubic boron nitride (CBN) or high speed steel.